Probation and Punishment

PROBATION AND PUNISHMENT Name Institution Affiliation Course Date of Submission Probation and Punishment Every community encounters criminal activities at one time or another. Depending on the case or the situation, criminal activities have been and will always be amongst us for the next years to come. It is the duty of the police and the law enforcement agencies to maintain law and order and keep the world full of piece and a better place to live in. The courts have the responsibility of placing these offenders in respective correctional facilities in a certain region. However, not all offenders are sentenced to a time in prison or jail but some punishments involve probation. This is where an offender has been ordered by a court judge to be retained in a given jurisdiction for a period of time under specific supervision by a probation officer (Mendicino, 2010). These efforts happened when individuals exempted from further criminal processing and are placed in probation as an alternative program. The act of putting some individuals in probation and others in jail helps to cut cost of the government, especially in the USA. Probation can be pre or post trial depending on the situation at hand. A historic context of probation dates back in the 17th and 18th century. It was the effort of John August that leads to the modern day probation that takes place. Even though he was a shoe maker, he was considered to have jump started probation between the periods of 1840 to 1859. He had volunteered to stand bail and be responsible for the selected few who could get the judge deferred sentence. In his capacity, he was to check on the activities of the selected offend ant and report back to the judge on how they were performing in the society. The judge`s final decision depending on whether their performance was positive or negative. How probation is carried out varies between the counties as every state or county have their rules and regulation. Offenders are specified on what they can do and what they are not supposed to do. Before an individual is put under probation, their past activities have to be investigated to determine the level of probation they will be put in. Serious offenders are usually put under intensive supervised probation program. In many states, convicted individuals are usually releases on parole, also known as probation. It is evident that Kris has been involved with past criminal activities. This was seen when he was accused of battery at the age of 13. To add onto that, he went ahead and differed his probation rules by engaging in another crime during his probation period. His activities clearly depict his lack of discipline and his character of not following rules. Despite this, he is still focussed on making a bright future for himself and his wife. However, due to his past activities, it is right to put him under intensive probation until further notice. Mr Donavan also thinks that intensive probation is appropriate for Mr Young. Kris is social is actively involved in a band with his friends (Morris & Tontry, 2003). His mental record is quite fine with no prior mental illness of the past. However, he still has a drug abuse problem which should be addresses for his own good. Despite the fact that he doesn`t have any mental illness record, MrDonavan`s opinion is quite different from mine. He insists on Kris participating on a mental counselling program even though I strongly disagree. I believe that as Kris was able to complete high school without being diagnosed with any mental problem them he should be exempted from the mental program. Intensive supervised probation (IPS) program involves more strict conditions and rules. The offend ant is supervised more closely and receives stricter conditions than the normal parole and probation situations.IPS puts focus on house arrest, minimising freedom and change of behaviour in general. Every county has its rules on the eligibility of an offender to be put under intensive supervised probation program (Mendicino, 2010). However, offenders who are accused or convicted of felonies are eligible for the program. An example of a perfect candidate for the strict program include candidates who have been accused or convicted of sexual offenses including sexual abuse or rape , drug offences including drug abuse or drug peddling and burglary of any nature. Sex offenders are eligible for IPS as they are more likely to repeat their actions if not supervised. It is therefore important for them to be put on probation or parole to make sure that the chances of them abusing their fellows sexually is put in control. Sex offenders are usually put under counselling, specialised training services, and DNA tests and recording. Moreover, the community is also informed about this offender and are advised to notify the probation officers in case the offend ant defies the probation regulations. Burglary and drug cases are also considered felonies in the United States courts. In this context, these offenders of s...